


The Witching Hour

by reversetheuniverse



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Monsters, magic boarding school au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-05-27
Packaged: 2018-04-01 11:40:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4018396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reversetheuniverse/pseuds/reversetheuniverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jade discovers she's a witch over the summer, her grandfather immediately ships her off to the Skaia Academy For Magical Entities. She's nervous at first, but soon finds herself right at home as she begins to develop her powers and settles into her identity as a magical being. However, when students start disappearing for no reason, she begins searching for answers. </p><p>Even if they might appear in her own family tree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Witching Hour

_Don't be nervous, Jade. This is only a high school. A high school for people just like you._

 

Today is your first day at the Skaia Academy For Magical Entities, and you are anxious. You've never been outside the comforts of your own hometown before, so when your powers manifested over the summer, your grandfather informed you that you _must_ attend this school in order to fully understand and control them. He insisted that everything would be just fine here. You hope he's right.

With your luggage slung over your shoulder and your information packet in your hand, you walk the grounds of Skaia, taking it all in. It's a humongous school, a lot larger than you originally pictured in your head. You underestimated the amount of 'magical entities' that existed, so the size of the school makes your stomach drop just to think about how many more there might be.

The school is ancient looking, the stone that the buildings are constructed out of a bit grimy at the edges, with black iron fencing surrounding the entirety of it. You'll bet more than anything that the building in the center is the main part of the school, and the buildings to the left and right of it are the dormitories.

"Alright! I need everyone to gather around me here!"

You follow alongside the crowd towards the girl with the magenta goggles waving one hand in the air, a clipboard in the other. As you're walking, you accidentally knock into someone, causing him to lose his balance.

"Sorry!" you exclaim as he turns to face you. He's not much taller than you (you're tall enough as it is), with blond hair and eyes hidden behind tinted aviators. You watch as he furrows his eyebrows, his mouth curved downward into a frown.

"Hey! Watch where the fuck you're going, will you?!" With that, he disappears into the crowd, leaving you in place, confused as ever.

 _"Rude ass motherfucker,"_ you mumble under your breath, but the girl with the goggles starts yelling again, and you focus your attention on her instead. You weren't about to let some rude asshole ruin your first day here. You were determined to make it as enjoyable for yourself as possible.

"Hello, new and returning classmates, and welcome to the Skaia Academy For Magical Entities! For those who don't know, I'm Feferi Peixes, and I'm going to be your student body president for the year, as well as the residential assistant for the girl's dormitory! I'll give you a brief history lesson for those new history buffs out there before we get everything settled.

"Skaia Academy began as a small institution in the late 1600s, right around the infamous Salem Witch trials. A group of witches known as 'The Dark Coven' founded Skaia as a refuge for young witches to escape to. They wanted a place where witches could be safe from harm, so after constructing the main building you see here, they cast a powerful protection spell over it, only allowing those of magical origins to enter. Within the last hundred years or so, they began allowing not just witches, but all magical entities to attend Skaia, and it has turned from a refugee camp to a place of learning. Of course, over the years it has been fixed up quite a bit, with the addition of the dormitories and a few smaller buildings for newer subjects, but Skaia is still extremely old! Any questions?" No one says anything. "Excellent! Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you to partner up with someone around you. I know some of you might already know each other, and that's great, but I'd like you to meet someone new! That's all a part of the experience here! After you find someone, I'd like you to share your name, what you are, as well a few facts about yourself! Go!"

You search around you for someone to partner up with, but everyone seems to have found someone, leaving you the odd man out. Eventually you spot someone in the crowd and you meet up with them, extending out a hand.

"Hi, I'm Jade Harley, and I'm a witch!" The person doesn't seem to want to cooperate at all, as noted by his gruff appearance and permanent scowl, but you don't let that get in the way of you interacting with them. "Can you maybe share your name and who you are?"

"I'm Karkat Vantas and I'm a troll," the stout guy huffs, his voice harsh, almost as if he's been yelling all his life. You take notice of his gray-tinged skin, as well as the nubby horns hidden within the black curls of his hair.

"I thought you were a troll, but I couldn't see your horns because they're so tiny and nubby!" You swear you see smoke billowing from him then as his face turns red, sort of like he's a teapot about to boil over. Right when he seems like he's going to explode, a girl appears by his side, elbowing him sporadically.

"You gonna let her trashtalk you like that, eh, Karkat?" You take notice that her eyes are hidden behind red, pointed glasses, and that her hair is . . . well . . . the strands are made completely out of snakes.

"I can handle my own conversations, thank you very much, Terezi," Karkat growls at her, which only earns him a cackle from her. She's a head taller than him, which makes him visibly angry. She leans over and attempts to ruffle his hair, but he swats her hands away to prevent her from doing so.

"So, uh, I guess I should introduce myself to you, now that you're in our group. I'm Jade Harley, and I'm a witch. I suppose you two already know each other?" you ask as you extend a hand out to Terezi. Terezi shakes it, a wicked grin displayed by her set of as-sharp-as-a-shark's teeth.

"Oh, Karkles and I go waaaaay back," she giggles. Karkat clicks his tongue, his arms folded against his chest.

"Yeah, unfortunately we know each other already. And I told you not to call me Karkles!"

"I'm Terezi Pyrope, by the way. I'm sure you can already tell, but I'm a gorgon." Her hair lifts suddenly, little snake heads popping about everywhere, their tongues flicking out of their mouths quickly.

"Yes, I can tell. You guys were easy to figure out. I don't really know much about 'magical entities' though, so a lot of the people here are lost on me. I only just learned about my powers a couple months ago, and I had no idea I would even have them in the first place! Oh well," you shrug.

"Well, welcome to hell. You'll be right in your element," Terezi tells you before hooking her arm around Karkat's neck, tugging him along beside her. "C'mon, Karkat. Vriska's over this way."

The two ditch you, leaving you alone again amongst a crowd of strangers. Yeah, this is definitely high school. The only thing that's different is that you get to live with these people, probably for the next few years of your life.

God, you hope that you can get through this.

"Okay! All eyes back on me now! C'mon, this isn't preschool! The sooner we get through this the sooner you can settle down and talk with your friends!" Everyone shuts up eventually, giving Feferi the opportunity to speak. "Now that we've met up with some new people, I will be giving you your room assignments. After you get your room number, you'll report to security in the main building, and they will give you your key card. If you lose this key card, notify security _immediately_ so that they can change the code for the room and deliver you and your roommate or roommates new keys. When I call your name, step up front!"

It turns out to be an _extremely_ tedious process, but you suddenly understand why you had to be to the school early in the morning. You're also glad your grandfather notified you of a simple shrinking spell, otherwise all your luggage would be weighing you down right about now. Eventually, Feferi reaches the last names that start with 'H', and you're finally able to get your room assignment.

"Harley, Jade!" You push through the crowd to the front, meeting the smiling student body president. "Hello, Jade! You will be in room 121!"

You nod to Feferi and then head towards the main building, ascending the small staircase leading up to the metal double doors. There's already a line of students at the security desk, but it doesn't take long for you to get to the front. The man at the desk hands you a key card and a map of the school, sending you down a hallway toward a door that will lead you to the entrance of the girl's dormitory.

Sure enough, the side exit leads you to the shiny doors of the girl's dormitory, and when you open them, you can't help but notice how clean and polished the inside is. The halls are lined with chestnut brown laminate flooring, and the walls have been freshly painted (you can tell from the wafting scent of paint lingering in the air) with a light beige color. You pass by row upon row of wooden doors until you find your number, 121. You slide the card into the card slot and wait for the green light to appear, pushing the door open when it lights up.

The room is actually relatively larger than you thought it would be. The flooring is a soft beige carpeting, and on each side of the room is a neat, nice-sized twin bed for you and your roommate. There are two empty desks, one at the end of each bed, and a sizable wardrobe for you and your roommate to share. The furthest wall facing north of the door has two enormous square windows with the blinds pulled. You think you could get used to this.

You decide to pick the bed on the right, hoping your roommate won't mind you choosing before she even arrives. You set your bag on the bed and remove the smaller bags from it, muttering an incantation.

 _"Hoc obiectum crescere."_   The bags grow back to their original size, taking up the entirety of your bed. You unpack the one with your posters first.

Nothing like a little decorating to spruce up your side of the room.

Most of your posters are science related (you're kind of a geek when it comes to science). Your favorite of the bunch is a Periodic Table of Elements poster you got with your Periodic Table of Elements calendar, each element with a picture beside it. You're a little embarrassed about all your stuff, but you just pray your roommate is pretty cool with it. The last thing you need is someone making fun of you for your affinity of science.

It takes you awhile, but you manage to get up all your posters in an orderly fashion, the final one to go up being your poster of Van Gogh's "Starry Night". You hear a click emerge from the door as someone pushes it open, a girl with black lipstick and a blonde bob held back with a black hairband entering the room. She strolls in with a wheeled suitcase rolling behind her, her head held high as if she were someone important. She takes a look at you and you notice her piercing violet eyes right away. They watch you as if they were scrutinizing you, and they may as well be. The girl takes everything in, inhales deeply and says,

"Well, I'm glad you decided to decorate the place. It was going to be boring as hell if one of us didn't add anything to it."

She turns her back away from you then, setting her bag next to her bed, removing her phone from her pcket and checking the time. She puts her phone away and turns sharply on her heel, facing you again as she extends a hand.

"You're my new roommate, I presume. I'm Rose Lalonde, clairvoyant extraordinaire and a witch as well." You shake her hand, a wide smile spreading across your face.

"Oh, I'm Jade Harley, and I'm a witch, too!" You relinquish Rose's hand back to her and she folds her arms across her chest, smirking.

"Good. I was wondering when they'd give me a decent roommate. Nothing is more useful than having someone you have to spend the next year with be in the same classes as you for the most part. Our homework is going to get done quickly, let me tell you. I assume you're new here. Did you just discover your powers?" You nod your head.

"I found out a couple of months ago. I know very little when it comes to anything magic."

"Don't worry about that. I'll be more than happy to help you out with anything, since I'm what you might call an 'expertise' in that field. Of course, I'm no Merlin, but I've been a witch for quite awhile. I've had time to hone my skills. I'll help you out with getting your books and other school items. A lot of the items we can buy at the school store, but others we're going to have to get from the kiosks down on Cauldron Avenue. Since school starts on Monday and it's only Friday, we'll have plenty of time to visit. For now, let's unpack. I'll feel a lot better when my stuff is unloaded so I don't have to deal with it later."

Rose turns her back on you, pulling something out from her pocket: a white, bright, glowing wand. She mutters something and her suitcase triples in size. She unzips it and waves her wand around, sending things floating in the air like something out of a Fantasia short. Clothes make their way into the wardrobe, shoes fly underneath the bed, posters plaster themselves upon the wall.

"I can't imagine how non-witches and warlocks unpack their suitcases. Being able to control magic makes things way too easy," you comment, earning a breathy chuckle from Rose. You turn back to your own items and unpack them without magic. Rose is finished within almost two minutes, and you still have three more bags to get through.

A long while later, while you're finally unpacking the last items out of your bags, Rose beckons you over.

"Hey, Jade, c'mere. We've got some welcome packages in our closets."

You walk over to her and look in your closet, seeing two bags placed neatly on the floor. On top of each of them is an envelope with 'Jade' and 'Rose' scrawled across the top of it. You pick up your bag and carry it to your bed, plopping down beside it as you tear your letter open. Inside is a note that reads:

 

_Dear Jade Harley,_

_Welcome new Skaia student! We are happy to welcome you to the 2015-2016 Skaia school year! Inside this bag are a few things to get the year started off right: your schedule, your student I.D. badge, several blank notebooks for classes, pencils, pens, a cafeteria card, a school handbook, and your supply list. We hope you find that Skaia is the perfect school for learning, and that you will continue to attend in the future!_

_Sincerely,_

 

_Headmaster Snowman_

 

 

You dig through the bag and find the items stated in the letter. Most of it is useless stuff that can wait until you start classes, but the I.D., schedule, cafeteria card, and supply list are pertinent to your situation now. You quickly cram the I.D. badge and cafeteria card into your purse and then unfold your schedule, glossing over your different classes:

 

 

"Here, hand over your schedule. I want to see if we are sharing any classes together." Rose thrusts her hand out in front of you, and you relinquish your schedule to her, moving your legs up and down while you wait for her to finish reading it.

"So what's the verdict?"

"We have History together, as well as Occult Elementology and Distortion and Defense second semester. Boy, are we in for a long ride." She hands you back your schedule and you fold it back up, placing it in your purse. You turn back to face Rose, who is busy retrieving her laptop from its case. You take out your supply list and study over it, curious as to what supplies you might need.

 

_Supply list:_

_-Cauldron_

_-Mortar and Pestle_

_-Containers for potions (can be tupperware if_

_you want to save a buck or two)_

_-Wand_

_-Broomstick_

 

_Textbooks:_

_-"Magical Beings: A Brief History Through the Ages"_

_-"Potions and Elixirs for Beginners"_

_-"Advanced Potions and Elixirs"_

_-"Spells: A Beginner's Guide To Sorcery"_

_-"Charmed, I'm Sure: The Next Level In Incantations"_

_-"Elementology for the Occult" (21st Edition)_

_-"I Turned My Roommate Into a Frog!: A Guide To_

_The Practice of Distortion and Defense"_

_-"What Am I?: A Manual of the World's Magical Creatures"_

 

"God, that's a lot of textbooks," you groan as you place the laundry list of items into your purse, zipping it back up and tossing it on the floor beside your bed.

"Yeah, well just wait until next year. You get double the amount of classes per semester and you're only allowed out of three of them if you have fulfilled the requirements for certain classes. It's to ensure that, for the late bloomers such as yourself, you get the full educational experience before you go to one of the worldwide colleges set up for us magical entities," Rose explains.

"There are colleges for magical beings?"

"Of course! There are a total of four institutions like the one we're currently at for high schoolers in the states, and a variety of different ones in other countries. Skaia is the most well-known, and the other institutions are more specialized with who they accept. I'm not quite sure how many colleges there are in the states, but if you return here next year you'll be able to visit the college fair they have for the senior students. I'm not looking forward to next year quite yet because of the workload, but it does help you discover what field you might work in. Of course, you could go to a 'normal' college, but it is highly recommended against. You won't be able to use any of your powers outside of these specialized institutions, so why would you go to a normal college? You wouldn't think it, but the magical world has a lot of jobs to offer, almost as many as the human world does."

You hadn't thought about it much before, but your life is really going to change now that you've discovered you're a witch. You're not a 'normal' human being anymore, so being a witch is now your entire being. You aren't quite sure how you feel about that yet, but you don't have any more time to process the information when your stomach grumbles loudly.

"Man, could I go for some grub right about now," you announce, rubbing your stomach.

"Want me to go with you to the cafeteria? I could use some food right about now, too," Rose offers.

"Would that be too much of a hassle?"

"Definitely not. Come on, grab your cafeteria card and let's go."

You swipe your purse from off the ground, slinging it over your shoulder, letting the strap rest across your chest. Rose leads the way out of your room and you shut the door behind you, following her down the hallway and out of the dormitory.

The cafeteria is right near the entrance of the main building, and once you enter, you see that almost the entire school has shared the same idea of getting food right then. The room is buzzing with students chatting, and you are awestruck by just the variety of people here.

"Isn't amazing? We're all freaks here," Rose tells you with a smirk, tugging on your sleeve to go to the lunch line. You pick up a tray and plate after she does and slide it along the metal buffet cart, taking a look at the food items offered at the moment.

"Uhhhh," you drawl as you stare at the strange assortment of delicacies. "What foods are . . . good?"

"Oh, don't worry, most of these are just normal foods with names to be funny. The 'Nessie Nuggets' are actually just chicken nuggets, and the 'Unicorn of the Sea Salad' is really just tuna salad. Though I would stay away from the tiramisu. It's made with real lady fingers." You can't tell if Rose is joking about the tiramisu or not, so you avoid it just in case. You load your plate up with some chicken nuggets and some 'fried skins' (french fries), taking a couple packets of 'goblin blood' (ketchup) once you're towards the end of the line. Thankfully for you, the drinks are labeled normally, so you grab a chocolate milk and wait to pay.

"That'll be two-fifty," the lunch lady tells you, and you dig your card out of your bag and hand it to her. She swipes it and hands it back to you, and you join Rose who is waiting patiently for you to finish.

"Alright, let's go find a place to sit. I am starving."

Both of you scan the cafeteria until you find an open spot at a table near the entrance, making your way over to it and sitting down so you can finally eat. You take a bite of one of your chicken nuggets and (thankfully) it tastes normal. You take a look at what Rose is eating and nearly spit out your own food when you see that it's a salad . . . _with crickets in it._

"Oh my god, are you really eating a salad with crickets in it?!" Rose looks down at her salad and shrugs.

"Believe it or not, it actually tastes good. Look, I don't go crazy with what I eat here, but I tried it one time and liked it. I'm sure you will do the same eventually, as well." She stabs her salad with a fork and takes another bite, and it's all you can do from retching right there and then.

You return to your own meal, eating another chicken nugget when a group of people entering the cafeteria catches your attention, specifically one person in particular with tinted aviators that you accidentally ran into earlier.

The girl heading the group is tall, her hair jet black and her lips painted a cerulean blue. She has spidery fingers and a wicked eye with eight pupils. The guy to the left of the boy with the shades has black hipster-like frames, brown hair with a purple streak down the center, and webbed ears. The guy lagging behind towers over all of them in comparison, yet walks with his back slumped over, his hands in his pockets.

"Who are they?" you whisper to Rose, gesturing to the group. She glances over at them and rolls her eyes, sighing.

"Ugh, those are Vriska Serket and her cronies. The girl in front is obviously Vriska, and the boy on the left with the webbed ears is Eridan Ampora, the boy with the shades is Dave Strider, Vriska's boy toy, and the guy lagging behind with the glazed look on his face is Gamzee Makara. They are what we call the popular jackasses of our school. Vriska Serket's had it out for me for absolutely no reason since we got here. It's amazing how she attracts so much attention when she's an inherent bitch to everyone she meets."

You glance behind you and notice Vriska looking at you. She gives you the stink eye and sneers, and you turn back around in your seat again.

"I saw the guy in the aviators earlier. I knocked into him on accident, and when I apologized he said, "Watch where the fuck you're going, will you?" He was a total dick!" Rose shuts her eyes, inhaling deeply before exhaling through her nose.

"Would you believe me if I said that was my twin brother?" You drop your jaw in disbelief.

"Oh my god, really? But you're so--"

"So much nicer? So better tempered? Yeah, well I'd blame part of that on him being part demon. He's got jackass coursing through his blood. Also, if you believe in the "good twin, evil twin" thing, then you'd be looking at living proof of it." Now that you think about it, Rose and Dave _do_ look really similar. Same ash blonde hair, same light, freckled complexion. If you couldn't tell they were twins, you could at least say they were siblings.

"So if Dave's part demon, then what is everyone else in the group?"

"Vriska Serket is a succubus. Not the sexy kind you hear about in fiction, the kind that can enter your dreams and kill you in your sleep. Of course, she hasn't killed anyone yet, and I highly doubt she would . . . but I would still keep high alert with her. Eridan is a mermaid and sorcerer, so there's a chance that he might be in one or two of our classes. Finally, Gamzee is a satyr. He's extremely tall for one, at that, so that's why you see him walking with a slump. And that is all there is to say about our band of merry, gaggling imbeciles."

"And we have to deal with them all year?" Rose nods her head.

"Oh yeah. They're all in our year, so we get to spend the next two years with them. And what a joy _that_ will be. At least you haven't been here the last two years. It's even worse when the head bitch herself claims a personal vendetta against you. Ah, the joys of high school just never end, do they?"

"I suppose not," you sigh as you lean into your hand, dipping a fry into some ketchup.

Looks like you're in this place for the long haul.

The two of you finish eating and then leave the cafeteria, returning to your dorm room. Rose points out a couple things to you on the way ("The library is right there, and it's open from five in the eight in the morning until midnight. It's pretty resourceful.") You finally make it back to room 121, sliding your card in the card slot and crashing on your bed once you're back in. Rose plugs in her headphones and goes on her laptop, leaving you time to yourself. You decide to pick up the handbook and flip through it, looking at the different rules and regulations of the place.

 

_28\. No skirt shall be less than knee-length._

 

Wow, this really  _is_ like high school. Good lord. _  
_

 

_45\. Curfew is no later than midnight. Any student out past midnight will receive a week of detention._

_. . ._

_63\. All students should be inside on a full moon, with the exception of werewolves._

 

Well  _that's_ obvious . . . . Wait a minute, what's this?

 

 _105\. All students are forbidden from taking any books out of the restricted section of the library. If caught, you will **immediately**_   _be expelled from the school grounds._

 

"Hey, Rose, what's in the restricted section of the library?" Rose presses a button on her laptop, extracting an earbud out of one of her ears.

"What?"

"What are they keeping in the restricted section of the library?"

" . . . I've never really thought about it much," she says. "I mean, I've heard the stories before. Some say it has forbidden spells and potions locked away, ones that, in the hands of someone dangerous could potentially bring about the end of the world, so to speak." She looks around before leaning closer, lowering her voice. "I've heard that it's protected by a very powerful spell, and that only really powerful witches and wizards can get in, or only the descendents of 'The Dark Coven' can get in. Of course, those are just rumors, but I would stay away from the restricted section if you know what's good for you. No sense in getting kicked out just because you're curious." She places her earbud back in and returns to whatever she was doing before. You gloss over the rest of the rules in the handbook, but you can't help the curiosity nagging the back of your mind.

 

_What is so powerful and dangerous that they have to keep hidden in the restricted section?_

 

Perhaps it doesn't even matter. Perhaps it's just some old texts that they'd prefer weren't passed around by the hands of careless students. Still, something about it keeps your mind intrigued, but you let it go, deciding to chill out and read something fun instead. As you relax, you decide that you might actually like it here at this school, despite how scary this new world may seem to you. 

 

You think you're going to enjoy being Jade Harley the teenage witch.

**Author's Note:**

> So I finally finished the first chapter of this fic! I'm probably going to put a pause on all the other fics I am currently working on so that I can work on this one. I really like this AU a lot and since I have no idea what direction it's going in, I will be working on it for quite awhile. I have a generally gist of what I want, but it's in the beginning stages of being formulated, so when I release the next chapter is unknown to me. If I ever do get this finished, I will have a follow up to it, and probably continue it as long as possible. 
> 
> Anyway, hopefully you'll enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it! :)
> 
> ((P.S. The title chapters are going to be songs))


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